Clothes Hanger System

ABSTRACT

A clothes hanging and drying system comprised of a rope assembly generally having a pair of lines intersected periodically by sets of stretchers. The gaps between individual stretchers provide a hanging point for various accessories including hangers, clip assemblies and combinations. The stretchers serve to prevent the accessories from moving down the line and bunching up thereby preserving the airspace between articles hung on the device. The stretchers also aid in distributing the stresses on the lines resulting in a more durable device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to drying fabric, and more particularly,to a system for drying clothes and other textiles without using energy.

2. Description of the Related Art

Several designs for clothes drying apparatuses have been designed in thepast. None of them, however, includes a system comprising a ropeassembly that prevents the unwanted movement of articles hanging on theline when used with either or both of a clip assembly and a hangerassembly.

Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat.No. 4,139,174 issued to Olson. However, it differs from the presentinvention because the present device includes a novel hanging line thatworks in concert with clips and hangers designed to hang onto the linewithout unwanted movement from wind or other forces. The presentinvention also includes clips that can be affixed to a specific hangerto convert the hanger from a shirt mode to a pants mode.

Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a numberof more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem inan efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novelfeatures of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide aclothes hanger system that permits the hanging of multiple textilearticles while preventing them from moving along the length of the line.

It is another object of this invention to provide a laundry hangercombination that can dry clothes effectively without the use of anyelectricity or other forms of energy.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a laundryhanger system that prevents the hanging items from bunching on the linethereby increasing airflow and decreasing dry time.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a set oflaundry hanging devices that can be combined to specifically accommodatethe drying of both shirts and pants.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a device thatis inexpensive to manufacture and maintain while retaining itseffectiveness.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the followingpart of the specification, wherein detailed description is for thepurpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitationsthereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consistsin the details of construction and combination of parts as will be morefully understood from the following description, when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of a variation of the device as itmight be used with various accessories.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a version of a hanger assembly.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a clipassembly

FIG. 4 is a representation of a plan view of a segment of an example ofa rope assembly.

FIG. 5 demonstrates an example of how a rope assembly might connect to asupport means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, where the present invention is generallyreferred to with numeral 10, it can be observed that it basicallyincludes a rope assembly 12, a pair of lines 14, a multiplicity ofstretchers 16, a hanger 18, a hanger assembly 20, a clip assembly 22 anda combination assembly 34.

The line assembly 12, in a preferred variation, is comprised of a pairof parallel lines 14 that are connected together by periodic sets ofstretchers 16. The stretchers 16 are generally perpendicular to the axisof the lines 14 and other variations are contemplated such asalternating complementary angles or other aesthetically pleasingpattern. Said sets of stretchers 16 may be comprised of between two andten perpendicular stretchers 16. Alternatively there may be stretchers16 uniformly spaced throughout the entire length of the rope assembly12.

Between each two adjacent stretchers 16 is a gap dimensioned to accept acommon household hanger 18, a hanger assembly 20 or a clip assembly 22.In practice said gap could typically range from about five millimetersto about twenty millimeters but other values could be equally effectivein their purpose. Likewise said sets of stretchers 16 could be separatedfrom the adjacent set of stretchers 16 by five to thirty centimeters butother values could be equally effective in their purpose.

In typical use of the present invention a hanger 18, hanger assembly 20or clip assembly 22 is passed between two adjacent stretchers 16 so thatsaid hanger 18, hanger assembly 20 or clip assembly 22 cannot slidealong the length of the line 14. For example, if a wind is imparted ontothe garments hanging on the invention or if the weight carried on thelength of the rope assembly 12 causes the lines 14 to sag the hanger 18,hanger assembly 20 or clip assembly 22 will not slide and bunch upthereby permitting continued air flow through the garments and speedingup the drying time of wet garments.

In typical use of the clothes hanger system the rope assembly 12 isstrung between two supports to elevate the rope assembly sufficientlyoff the ground or other obstructions so that any textiles hanging on theclothes hanger system do not make contact with any other object. Saidsupports could be a wall, pole, tree or other suitable means to anchoreach end of the line assembly 12. Further examples of rope assembly 12support is below in the discussion on FIG. 5.

Now referring to FIG. 2 where an example of a hanger assembly 20 isshown in more detail to include, inter alia, a hook 24, a neck 26, aspreader 28, a shoulder 30 and a multiplicity of stretchers 32.

The hanger assembly 20 includes a hook 24 dimensioned to engage betweena pair of stretchers 16 and therefore be supported by the rope assembly12. By hooking the hook 24 between a pair of stretchers 16 the hangerassembly 20 will not be able to slide along the rope assembly 12 and anyarticles hanging on the hanger assembly will not bunch up and will drymore effectively.

The pair of spreaders 28 are connected to each other by a series of apredetermined number of stretchers 32 resulting in a rigid and durablestructure onto which textile articles may be supported. The hook 24 isconnected to the spreaders 28 by a neck 26. Shoulders 30 are provided atboth ends of the spreaders 28 to provide a soft curve that could, forexample, be used to avoid creasing a shirt or other garment hung on thehanger assembly 20.

The nature of most common laundry lines is that they are made ofnon-rigid material, such as rope, and thus sag in the middle whenspanning a distance. Generally, when the hanger assembly 20 is hangingon the line assembly 12 it is biased toward the perpendicular to theline assembly 12 due to the hook 24 being formed substantially parallelto the spreaders 28. In other words, the present invention allowstextile articles to hang leafed together like as they would if on commonwire hangers on a common rigid closet hanger rod contrasted to if thosesame textile articles were directly draped over the same common closethanger rod. This allows for much more to hung onto a given length ofrope assembly 12, without bunching, than would be otherwise be possible.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the stretchers 32 are preferably dimensionedwith sufficient spacing between to accept a hook 24 from another copy ofa hanger assembly 20, a hanger 18 or a clip assembly 22. An addedbenefit of having both the stretchers 16 on the line assembly 12 andstretchers 32 on the hanger assembly 20 dimensioned similarly is thatthere is an added aesthetic appeal.

In one preferred variation the hanger assembly 20 is constructed of aplastic polymer. However, as can easily be appreciated other materialssuch as metal or other synthetic composition could be equally effective,durable and cheap to manufacture.

It can also be appreciated that other designs of hangers might also beemployed with the present clothes hanger system that may not be aseffective and adaptable as the design disclosed but may also be suitablefor some limited applications. An example of an alternate may be such asthe common hanger 18 shown and demonstrated in FIG. 1. The hanger 18lacks the ability to hold other devices effectively such as a clipassembly 22 or another hanger 18.

Referring now to FIG. 3 where an example of a clip assembly 22 is shownin more detail to include, inter alia, a hook 36, a mouth 38 and a hinge40.

The clip assembly 22 is designed to securely hold a textile article inthe mouth 38 on one end and hang onto either a hanger assembly 20 or arope assembly 12 with the hook 36. In typical use, an article could beheld with multiple clip assemblies 22 onto multiple points on the lineassembly 12. Preferably the mouth 38 of the clip assembly 22 is biasedclosed with a spring (not shown).

Alternately, as shown in FIG. 1 as a combination assembly 34, to fitmore articles onto a line assembly 12, a hanger assembly 20 could beused to hang the article substantially perpendicular to line assembly 12by hanging the article on clip assemblies 22 in turn hanging onto thespreaders 28 of a hanger assembly 20 that is hanging on a point on theline assembly 12.

FIG. 4 shows a more detailed view of an example of a segment of a ropeassembly 12 which includes, inter alia, a pair of lines 14 and amultiplicity of stretchers 16. Groups of said stretchers 16 occurperiodically along the length of the rope assembly 12. There may be anynumber of stretchers 16 in a group, however, groups of between two andten have been shown to be effective. Equally effective but potentiallymore costly to produce are consistently spaced stretchers 16 throughoutthe length of the rope assembly 12.

While hanging between two points of support the rope assembly 12experiences tension forces which are primarily borne by the pair ofparallel lines 14. This tension force is increased with the more weightthat is hung onto the line assembly 12. The stretchers 16 also performthe important function of transferring and balancing the tension betweenthe lines 14 so that the pair of lines 14 share the tension. Also, ifone line 14 of the pair should fail then the other line 14 remaining intact could support the entire weight imparted onto the rope assembly 12.

Preferably the stretchers 16 and lines 14 are made of a material that isboth flexible and durable. The lines 14 and stretchers 16 could be madeof the same material or complementary materials. For versions of thedevice that may be used out doors or in less than ideal conditions thestretchers and lines 14 may be ultra-violet stabilized and mildew androt resistant. It has been contemplated to construct the stretchers 16and lines 14 from braided or twisted polymer, natural fiber, metal cableor combinations of the preceding but any material that is flexible anddurable could potentially be used.

Now referring to FIG. 5 where a view of an optional means of erectingthe rope assembly 12 by using a hook 42. Generally, the rope assembly 12is supported at each end with sufficient strength to hold apredetermined weight of wet textile articles for the purpose of dryingor airing out. Any strong structure could support the rope assembly 12and articles that it supports including, for example, trees, posts,stakes, pylons or walls.

An advantage of including gaps between groups of stretchers 16 is thatthese gaps may be used as an anchor point to secure over a hook 42. Ithas been found particularly effective to double loop the line assembly12 over a hook 42 through two adjacent gaps separated by a set ofstretchers 16 as shown in FIG. 5. The line assembly 12 could be equallyeffective if permanently mounted to an attachment point by screw, boltor other commonly available fastener. Also effective could be tying theline assembly 12 around a tree, pole or other similar structure so longas the supporting structure has sufficient integrity to support theweight of the line assembly 12 and the weight of any wet textilearticles expected to be supported by the line.

A preferred variation of the invention may be described as a clotheshanger system comprising a rope assembly and hanger accessories; saidrope assembly further comprised of a first line and a second line; saidfirst line and second line are substantially parallel; said first lineand said second line are joined by multiple stretchers; said stretchersare present in periodic sets of stretchers; each set of stretchershaving a predetermined number of individual stretchers; the individualstretchers in any set of stretchers are spaced evenly; a predeterminedgap is present between said sets of stretchers; said stretchers are eachconnected at a first end to said first line; said stretchers areconnected on a second end to said second line; said stretchers intersectsaid lines substantially perpendicularly creating a series of voidsbounded by any two adjacent stretchers and the first line and secondline; said voids dimensioned to accept any of said hanger accessories;said hanger accessories include any of a common household clotheshanger, a hanger assembly or a clip assembly; said clip assembly havinga hook on a first end dimensioned to be inserted into any of said voidson the rope assembly and a clip on a second end; said hanger assemblyhaving on a first end a hook dimensioned to be inserted into any of saidvoids and having on a second end spreader assembly comprised of a pairof parallel spreaders intersected and joined together by a predeterminednumber of stretchers spaced sufficiently apart to form voids bounded byany two adjacent stretchers and both spreaders and dimensioned to acceptthe hook of any of said hanger accessories.

In a variation, the invention can be further characterized in that saidvoids on the rope assembly are dimensioned the same as the voids on thehanger assembly.

In another variation, the device may be further characterized in thateach of said sets of stretchers on the rope assembly are comprised ofbetween two and ten individual stretchers.

In yet another variation, the invention may be further characterized inthat said sets of stretchers on the line assembly are spaced apartequidistant to the space between stretchers in any set so that there areequally spaced stretchers throughout the length of the line assembly.

The foregoing description conveys the best understanding of theobjectives and advantages of the present invention. Differentembodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. Itis to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to beinterpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

1. A clothes hanger system comprising a rope assembly and hangeraccessories; a) Said rope assembly further comprised of a first line anda second line; said first line and second line are substantiallyparallel; said first line and said second line are joined by multiplestretchers; said stretchers are present in periodic sets of stretchers;each set of stretchers having a predetermined number of individualstretchers; the individual stretchers in any set of stretchers arespaced evenly; a predetermined gap is present between said sets ofstretchers; b) Said stretchers are each connected at a first end to saidfirst line; said stretchers are connected on a second end to said secondline; said stretchers intersect said lines substantially perpendicularlycreating a series of voids bounded by any two adjacent stretchers andthe first line and second line; said voids dimensioned to accept any ofsaid hanger accessories; c) Said hanger accessories include any of acommon household clothes hanger, a hanger assembly or a clip assembly;d) Said clip assembly having a hook on a first end dimensioned to beinserted into any of said voids on the rope assembly and a clip on asecond end; e) Said hanger assembly having on a first end a hookdimensioned to be inserted into any of said voids and having on a secondend spreader assembly comprised of a pair of parallel spreadersintersected and joined together by a predetermined number of stretchersspaced sufficiently apart to form voids bounded by any two adjacentstretchers and both spreaders and dimensioned to accept the hook of anyof said hanger accessories.
 2. A clothes hanger system as in claim 1further characterized in that said voids on the rope assembly aredimensioned the same as the voids on the hanger assembly.
 3. A clotheshanger system as in claim 1 further characterized in that each of saidsets of stretchers on the rope assembly are comprised of between two andten individual stretchers.
 4. A clothes hanger system as in claim 1further characterized in that said sets of stretchers on the lineassembly are spaced apart equidistant to the space between stretchers inany set so that there are equally spaced stretchers throughout thelength of the line assembly.